Liverpool talking point: Burnley defeat hurt fans so much because it was familiar

Ragnar Klavan and Georginio Wijnaldum of Liverpool shows his appreciation to the fans at the end of the Premier League match between Burnley and Liverpool at Turf Moor on August 20, 2016 in Burnley, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The optimism of last week shattered, washed away within 90 draining minutes at Turf Moor.

If victories can prompt hyperbole, then so too can defeats. Such is the way of modern football.

So as Jurgen Klopp tried, and largely failed, to explain Liverpool’s slipshod performance in his post-match press conference, elsewhere Reds were bemoaning the start of another year of frustration.

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New season, yet nothing has changed.

That may be tad excessive, not to mention premature, but the truth is that Saturday’s defeat angered supporters. And mainly because they’ve seen it before.

And heard it before, too. Those who were at Watford last season, or Newcastle, or West Ham, or Swansea, will recognise some of the themes raised by Klopp this weekend.

Composure, decision-making, poor shooting, errors in possession, the inability to effectively prevent counter attacks; these are not new issues for Liverpool. They pre-date Klopp, but they remain under him.

Don’t let the numbers fool you. Liverpool had all of the ball, all of the shots and all of the corners. From a statistical perspective, they were dominant, but it rarely felt that way. The truth is, they were abject. Clear-cut chances? Zero. Burnley, with their 19% possession, were more than worthy winners.

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Burnley 2-0 Liverpool

Victory over Arsenal had ensured the campaign began with a wave of optimism, but it’s hard to have faith in a team that veers so quickly from good to bad. Plenty of Liverpool fans, for example, saw the Burnley loss coming. They’ve watched that episode plenty of times.

How frustrating it must be for Klopp, to watch such inconsistency, to see players capable of blowing away good teams reverting to type within the space of a week. This is his team, he has told us recently, and he needs to find a way to get rid of these performance swings if it is to be successful.

Attacking football? We love it. It’s what we pay to see. When Liverpool are hot, they’re hot. They sizzled for 20 minutes at The Emirates, but the fire was well and truly extinguished by the time they were put out of their misery at Turf Moor.

Liverpool sizzled at Arsenal, but not at Burnley (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

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It’s important to retain a sense of perspective, of course. We’re not a fortnight into the season yet, and Liverpool, with a fair-sized injury list, have already beaten a title contender away from home. There’s a new Anfield to come, and players to return. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

All true enough, yet at the same time the questions are fair. Is James Milner really a suitable option, long-term, at left back? Will a midfield of Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum offer enough authority and presence? Why do vaunted attacking players find it so hard to break through deep-lying defences? And can such a frenzied team be relied upon to get results on a regular enough basis?

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Time will tell, on those. Klopp backs himself to improve players, and believes that this squad is better than many think. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets, first at Burton Albion and then next weekend at Tottenham.

If Liverpool are to be successful, they need to get out of the “good performance, bad performance, let’s see a reaction” cycle. Consistency wins titles, and the Reds don’t have enough of it at the moment.